Always here for you
by ImagineNomieX
Summary: Donna can't sleep. Usually when that's the case, she goes and finds the Doctor to talk to him. But events from earlier on in the day have had a horrible effect on the Doctor. Slight Doc!Whump or Ill!Doc as I like to call it! with Donna/Doctor friendship! Please read, review but most of all, enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Donna Noble was sleepily wandering through the long TARDIS corridors, dressed in her deep purple PJs. She had no idea what time it was. When you've been on the TARDIS for as long as she had, you just relied on your body to tell you when you were tired instead of relying on time.

On this particular night, Donna had been really tired after a full days running through time and space and had retreated to bed as soon her and the Doctor had finished their walk on the Planet of Rutca. She had to admit, the Doctor hadn't lied when he had said that it was a beautiful planet. It had been covered in a range of different plants that seemed to shine in every colour that existed. The walk they had been on really impressed Donna, especially since they hadn't been attacked by giant monkeys or shot at by the natives.

When she had fallen into a deep sleep, she awoke a couple of hours later and just couldn't seem to be able to get back to sleep again. Deciding that it was useless trying to sleep, she decided that she would go and fine Spaceman. He never slept anyway.

Letting a long yawn escape, Donna continued down the corridor. She was heading for the console room since the Doctor was usually in there tinkering with the TARDIS. She had once walked in on him tinkering under the console, and only his converse had been visible. The rest of him had been covered in wires of all shapes and sizes. She laughed softly out loud at the memory as she finally reached the console room.

But when she looked up, she found that no one was there. The Doctor wasn't there.

"Spaceman?" She called softly. When she got no reply, she frowned.

She checked all around the console, but there were no converse feet sticking out of anywhere. Realising that he defiantly wasn't there, the place she thought of next was the library.

Setting off down the corridor again, Donna headed for the library. Maybe the Doctor had felt like reading. She sometimes thought how bored he must get when he was alone whilst she slept. Even though she loved the adventures, she was still human and therefor still needed sleep regularly.

As she got further down the corridor, she passed an old brown door. She knew it was, indeed, the Doctors room. She had only seen the inside of it a few times. Maybe he was in there. After all, it would be better to check now in case he was in there. It would also save her the journey to the library. Sometimes she hated the fact that the TARDIS was just so big.

She wandered over to the door, raised her right arm and knocked three times.

"Doctor?" She called out. When she got no reply, she repeated the knocks.

"Doctor?" She called out again, this time a little louder.

Something crossed her mind that she really should off considered. Maybe, just maybe, he was asleep. When the thought hit her, she instantly regretted knocking loudly and nearly shouting his name.

However, there had still been no reply. And, Donna being Donna, she had to check to make sure he defiantly wasn't in there.

She raised her hand to the handle and slowly opened the door. She peaked inside as it opened wider and wider. The room was rather dark, and the features of the Doctor's room were barley visible. As she opened the door as wide as it would go, her eyes directed to the bed. And when her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she spotted him.

The Doctor was lying sprawled out on his bed, still dressed in his suit from their walk. Donna noticed his hair was even messier than usual (which was saying something). But, there was something…off.

Donna squinted her eyes slightly and started to walk towards the sleeping Time Lord when she noticed beads of sweat plastered on his forehead. She could also see a look of discomfort on his face as if he was is a small amount of pain. This is when Donna realised, something definitely wasn't right.

She quickly ran round to his side of the bed, turned on the bedside lamp and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Doctor?" She said softly and shuck him gently by his shoulder. He didn't respond. Donna's heart started to race.

She placed her other hand to his forehead and had to quickly pull it away. He was hotter than boiling water.

"Doctor, wake up, your burning!" She frantically said, shaking him by both shoulders, but still to no result.

Remembering back to when her grandfather had caught Spanish flu, she had found him burning up on the sofa in the living room and had put a cold damp flannel over his forehead and it had helped him to cool down.

Wasting no time, Donna ran to the Doctor's on-suite bathroom, grabbed a towel and ran it under the cold sink until it was dripping wet, squeezed it to get the access water out and then ran back to his side, placing it over his burning forehead.

"Come on Spaceman, what's wrong with you?" She thought out loud, as she held the damp towel from falling. She pushed back the stray hair that was in the way of the towel and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly.

As if that was some sort of magic code, he suddenly groaned lightly and his eyes started to open slowly. Donna felt a slight rush of relief wash over her as he turned his head to face her. He blinked a few times before his eyes opened fully. Donna gasped at the state of them. The white in his eyes were completely bloodshot, and his pupils dilated as if he was possessed by some kind of demon.

"D-Donna" He croaked.

"Oh Spaceman, I would love to slap you right now" She murmured as she dabbed his forehead slightly to the left with the damp towel. "What's wrong with you? You're lucky I was up looking for you, you're hotter than the bloody sun!"

"P-plant…on Rutca…the y-yellow one…poisonous..." He managed to croak. Donna felt her heart drop.

"Poisonous?!" She yelled. "What-what?! But I touched that plant too?!"

"R-Rutca Lily…o-only poisonous to...T-Time Lords…didn't know…" Before he could finish his sentence, his chest tightened and he erupted into a violent coughing fit. He quickly sat up and tried to control it himself. Donna took the towel away from his head and turned to rubbing circles on his back.

"Shh-shh, it's alright, Spaceman, I'm here"

After a few more seconds, the coughing finally stopped and the Doctor fell backwards onto the bed.

"Is there some sort of anti-poison or something?" Donna asked, removing his tie from around his neck.

"N-no, it's just…like a nasty c-chest…infection, m-my body will…fight it off in a f-few days." The Doctor replied, lifting his head slightly so Donna could take the tie away from his neck.

"Well, as long as you're not gonna go into a lifelong coma, then I'll try not to worry too much" She said with a slight chuckle and applied the wet towel to his forehead again. She was completely joking. She was very worried about him, but, if he said that he would be better in a few days, then she would stay by his side the whole time.

The Doctor opened his bloodshot eyes to look at Donna and he smiled slightly.

"Y-You don't have to…do this, Y'know?" He said to her.

"Of course I do you dumbo! You're ill, and I'm gonna take care of you, whether you like it or not" She said. The Doctor chuckled slightly and gave her the best smile he could muster.

"Thank you…Donna" He croaked.

"Don't mention it, skinny boy; I'm always here for you"

She dabbed his forehead some more, and perched herself on the edge of his bed. She wasn't going anywhere.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a couple of hours since Donna had discovered the Doctor in his ill state. She had vowed to stay by his side, and stayed by his side she had.

In that time, she had removed his pinstriped suit jacket and the red converse from his feet so he was more comfortable. Every now and again, he would have a one of the horrible coughing fits that scared Donna to the core. But she found after a minute or so, they would stop.

The Doctor had perked up a little about ten minutes ago, and Donna had managed to get some more information out of him.

"So, are you sure you can fight this of yourself?" Donna asked him. "Most blokes I've seen with this type of illness would have booked themselves into a hospital by now!"

"I'm sure, Donna, I just need some rest an-"

Suddenly, his face seemed to wash over with a sickly green color and he rushed both hands to his mouth. Donna watched him leap out of the bed, too quick for her liking, and run to the bathroom. She cringed slightly when she heard the retching echo from out of the bathroom. Poor Spaceman.

She got up from the old wooden chair she had acquired from the corner of the room and walked over and into the bathroom. The Doctor was hunched over the toilet, gasping for air as the last of that round came up. Donna stood beside him, rubbing soothing circles on his back.

"This doesn't just seem like a chest infection, Doctor" Donna asked him with a worried glance.

"It's just the plants…toxins…g-getting out of my body" He managed to sputter whilst looking up at her. "It's normal…d-don't worry about it"

Before Donna could reply, his head dropped over the toilet again as the retching started again.

Donna continued rubbing his back for another few good minutes, before he finally said that it was all out.

She helped him stand up and he placed his arm around her shoulders. She marched him out of the bathroom, back to his bed and gently laid him down. She felt his forehead to see how is temperature was. When she placed her hand on the skin, she got quite the shock.

He was freezing cold.

"Doctor, you're freezing!" Donna exclaimed, taking her hand away.

"Am I?" The Doctor asked, looking at her with his bloodshot eyes.

"Yes you are!" Donna wasted no time in grabbing the bed sheets and shuffling them over him so he was covered head to toe. "Do you want a hot-water bottle? I'm sure I brought one with me in one of the suitcases"

"I-It's…fine, Donna" He replied. She noticed that he was starting to shiver.

"No it's not; I'm going for that hot water bottle" She told him, making sure that the blankets covered his feet. She walked over to the bedroom door and glanced back at him with a warming smile. "I'll be right back, Spaceman"


	3. Chapter 3

**Before I continue with this story, I would like to thank TheMysteriousComicGeek for helping me with the story so far. It really has been improving my writing! Thank you very much!**

**I would also like to thank all of you who are taking your time to come and read my stories, it means a lot to me! You're all wonderful!**

**This story will have a few more chapters before it finishes, and then I will be posting another few Doctor and Donna/Doctor and Rose related stories before I reveal a very big project that will be a Doctor and Donna story! **

**Keep smiling! **

-x-

Donna had spent fifteen minutes searching through her suitcases for the hot water bottle she knew she packed. She hadn't realised just how much she had packed for herself.

Once she had found it (hidden under the three pairs of high heels in the big blue suitcase) she had rushed to the TARDIS kitchen, filled it with piping hot water from a boiled kettle, and returned to the Doctor's room.

When she had walked in the room, she discovered that he was no longer on the bed.

Donna's face turned to confusion, but then she heard the retching from within the bathroom. She sighed with a mixture of relief and fatigue and strolled over to the bed to position the water bottle underneath his covers to warm the bed up. After she had done that, she quickly walked over to the bathroom.

He was in the same position as before, but he was shivering this time which made him look even worse.

"How is it?" She asked him, knowing it was a bit of a stupid question, but in needed asking.

"I-I thi-think this is the…last of i-it…completely" He managed to stutter out, before his head went over the toilet to empty the last of the plant toxins. Hopefully.

Once Donna thought he was finished, she walked over to him and helped him up again. As she helped him up, she got a proper glimpse of his face. It was pale white with dark bags under his bloodshot eyes. It looked even thinner and fragile than it usually did and it lacked that enthusiasm that the Doctor's face never seemed to lack. He also looked older and in that quick moment, she caught a glimpse of the nine hundred year old man trapped inside of him.

She walked him to his bed for the second time that night and lied him down again. The covers were a lot warmer now due to the hot water bottle and as soon as the Doctor was under them, his shivering instantly began to deteriorate.

"Does that feel any better, Spaceman?" She asked him whilst she pulled the covers over his thin frame.

"A lot b-better, thank you D-Donna" He replied, giving her the best smile he could collect.

Donna smiled back at him and sat down on the old wooden chair next to his bed.

"Y-you look tired Donna, go and g-get some sleep" The Doctor said to her as soon as she had sat in the chair.

"No need trying that, I'm staying with you" She said back. But after that sentence, she felt a large yawn escape her mouth and all of sudden, she felt incredibly tired.

"See?" The Doctor replied. "Y-you're tired. I'll be fine on m-my own for the…rest of t-the night. You need to go and g-get some sleep"

Donna took that into consideration. She had been at this for three and a half hours and she was getting rather droopy the more he mentioned it.

Sighing, she lifted her hand and pushed the stray hair out of the Doctor's face.

"If you need me, you come and wake me up straight away. You got that, Spaceman? Scream the whole place down if you need to, yeah?" She explained to him. A small smile spread across his face.

"Yeah"

She removed her hand and then put the old wooden chair back to its original position in the corner of the room. She walked back over to the bad and made sure the Time Lord was comfortable. After that, she walked over to the door to head to her room.

"T-Thank you, Donna Noble"

She stopped on the spot and turned to face the Doctor, with a warm smile on her face.

"Don't mention it, Spaceman"

-x-

**Please don't feel afraid to review! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but I've just started my A-levels and the homework is consuming most of my time, but I'm not just gonna leave you all for that! **

**There will be one more chapter after this, and then my first Doctor and Donna story will be complete! So for now, enjoy this chapter! Warning, this has a serious amount of soup at the start! **

**Please take your time to review, I love feedback! **

**Keep smiling!**

-x-

A couple of days had passed since Donna had found the Doctor is his ill state. He had slowly and ever so surely gotten better and better each day, with no more vomiting and less of the violent coughing fits. However, he was still too ill to be up and running around like he usually would be on a normal day, so he was still reduced to lying in bed.

Donna had never left his side. The only time she did was to get some sleep, and even then, as soon as she had woken up, she went straight to the Doctor's room to take care of him.

It was around about dinner time, so Donna had left the Doctor to go and make him some soup. He had been refusing to eat anything these past few days, but she had just managed to persuade him today that he needed to eat something.

After she had finished making the soup, she had put it into a bowl and placed the bowl onto an old cream colored tray and was now carrying it through the corridors of the TARDIS. The smell of the soup was making her hungry, since she hadn't made any for herself, but she wasn't really concerned for herself.

Donna finally reached the Doctor's room and entered with a smile on her face. She looked over to see the Doctor sitting up in his bed, with a pillow behind his back for comfort. He caught her smiling glance and gave her a smile back as she strode over to his bedside.

"Here you go, Spaceman. It's just some _Heinz_ cooked in the microwave, but all the same, you need to eat something." She said to him. "If you don't eat half of that then I'm feeding you a tree!"

The Doctor chuckled slightly as Donna placed the tray on his knees which were underneath his bed cover. The smell hit the Doctor's nose and he suddenly felt his stomach gurgle hungrily. To Donna's surprise, he instantly tucked in.

Donna found herself laughing slightly as he wolfed the soup down. When the Doctor realised she was laughing, he stopped eating the soup and looked up at her.

"I have spilled this somewhere?" He asked her. She shook her head and slowly stopped laughing.

"It's just you, you Muppet! I haven't seen you eat that fast in…well, for as long as I've known you!"

"Well," The Doctor began. "I don't think I've been this ill in quite a while."

Donna just smiled at him and the Doctor smiled back, before returning to his soup.

After a few minutes, he had completely finished the bowl of soup and it was now lying down by his bed, whilst he and Donna were deep in conversation.

"So, all the toxins will now be out of your body?" Donna asked him.

"Well, more or less." The Doctor stated. "When we were on that planet, it completely slipped my mind that there was plants native to that part we landed on that were poisonous to Time Lords. I remember being taught them in…oh, my second year at the Academy."

"Well, you obviously either weren't listening properly when they taught you about them, or you're just getting really forgetful in your old age, Spaceman." Donna joked.

"Oi! I'm approaching one thousand years old and you expect me to remember everything I learned eight hundred years ago?" The Doctor exclaimed teasingly.

Donna reached over and batted him on the arm playfully and the Doctor gave her a cheeky grin. The grin that Donna hadn't seen on his face in over a week. She felt a smile creep onto her face.

"It's good to see you like this again, Spaceman. It's just not like you to be ill," Donna said to him.

"Well, come on, I wouldn't be like this now if it wasn't for you." The Doctor replied.

"Oh, shut up, I hardly did anything!"

The Doctor raised his eyebrow. "Hardly did anything? I would probably have thrown myself into a supernova by now if you hadn't of taken care of me!" The Doctor revealed to her.

Donna gave him one of her rare smiles that made him realize why Donna Noble, a temp from Chiswick, was his best friend.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Sorry for a little bit of a wait, but here it is! The last chapter! Hope you enjoy, don't forget to give me a cheeky little review!**

-x-

After Donna had sat and talked to the Doctor for an hour or two, the Doctor had suddenly turned to her and said that she needed to go and get some rest. Apparently, she looked more tired than she ever had before.

After a little bit of persuasion, she had gave into the Doctor's pleas, and decided to go and get some well-earned rest.

"You know where I am if you need me, Spaceman." Donna reminded the Doctor as she headed towards the bedroom door so she could head off to her own room.

"Thanks Donna, now allons-y, go and get some rest!" The Doctor shooed at her playfully. Donna gave a small chuckle, the tiredness overwhelming her as she turned and left the Doctor's room.

The Doctor sneakily observed Donna withdraw from his room and once he could no longer hear her footsteps from down the corridor, he was ready to put his secret idea, which he had been planning for the last few hours, into action. He then realised he would have to give Donna some time to actually rest before he could instigate the plan he had conjured, and comprehending that he was still a little tired out from being ill, he decided that maybe he should get just a little bit of rest too.

So he shut his eyes, for a quick nap.

-x-

Eight Hours Later…

Donna slowly opened her eyes from her solid eight hour slumber. Her bed in the TARDIS had never felt so comfortable and sleep had never been as satisfying as it had just been.

Even though she had finally gotten the break that she deserved, she had still fallen into her sleep worrying about the Doctor. She had come to love Spaceman like he was a little brother to her, even though he was at least nine hundred years older that her.

Even if he was getting better each day, she had a constant worry that some sort of illness would come back and overcome him again, or that he would try and do something and end up hurting himself.

But, that was life on the TARDIS. No matter how many planets you visit or how many galaxies you enter, there is still someone or something that is a danger to your life and well-being. And that, in some ways, is what Donna loved.

Deciding to get up, she rubbed her eyes thoroughly to try and get rid of the slight blurriness that covered her vision. Once it had cleared, she slowly removed the blanket covering her and sat up in the bed.

However, before she could get her legs over the edge of the bed, she heard the familiar hum of the console room suddenly buzz into life and the TARDIS abruptly started to violently shudder and shake. After a few seconds of the nearly being knocked from her bed, the TARDIS finally settled down and had obviously landed somewhere. Once she composed herself, Donna then instantly realised that the only reason the TARDIS could have been inflight was, well, there was only one way the TARDIS could have been inflight.

"So much for still being ill, Spaceman." Donna muttered to herself. She slipped some old boots of hers onto her feet and put on one of her jackets over her pajamas, and then stormed off in the direction of the console room.

As she approached the console room, she could hear the odd grunt and groan emit from inside it and she knew that was the Doctor. She quickened her pace slightly, getting rather worried.

When she finally reached the console room, she saw the Doctor sitting on the pilot's chair, leaning forward with his hands on his knees, panting heavily. He was back to wearing his normal blue suit and looked rather sickly. Donna felt a small rise of panic start to build up on her.

"Doctor?" Donna exclaimed. He must not have noticed her, or heard her come in, because as soon as she spoke, he jumped sky high from the seat as if he had just had the fright of his life.

"Donna." He panted with his hand right hand on his chest trying to calm his breathing down.

"Oh, sorry Spaceman, I didn't mean to scare you," Donna said as she started to walk towards him in concern. "What are you doing out of bed? And, what are you doing out of your pajamas, I can tell you're still not well!"

"Look Donna, I'm fine, just a bit stiff and out of breath but I have a supri-"

"But nothing, Martian, You're going back to bed right now." Donna exclaimed grabbing his arm. She was just about to tug him back to his room when he stopped her and looked at her straight in the eye.

"Donna, I have something to show you." The Doctor told her, placing his free arm on her shoulder to make her stay put.

"Doctor, you're still not well!" Donna tried to tell him, putting on her stern voice, but the Doctor was not going to be beaten.

"Please Donna," He puffed. "I want you to see this."

After he said that, Donna slowly let her grip on the Doctors arm release and let her hand travel back down to her side. All she could do was look at him while he gave her a small reassuring smile. He then gently turned and started to walk towards the doors. Donna didn't hesitate to follow.

As he was walking towards the doors, Donna noticed he kept wincing and holding his stomach with one hand. She quickened her pace and began to walk beside him, putting one arm around his waist for support, as he was also limping slightly.

"Sorry, I'm pretty stiff and just loosing breath really easily, should pass within a few more days of being up and about," The Doctor explained to her, as they both finally reached the doors of the TARDIS.

"Go on, open them." The Doctor calmly ordered Donna, who looked up at him with a little bit of a confused look on her face.

"What? I swear to God if we are in the middle of a crown or something, I will knock you into next week sunshine, I'm in my pajamas don't forget!" Donna stated. The Doctor just looked at her, and then blinked slowly, nodding his head slightly.

"Trust me."

Donna shook her head, giving him a small smile and a glare, before reaching out her free arm and gradually opened the doors to reveal what was outside.

When the doors were fully open, all Donna could do was stand completely still with her jaw hanging from the rest of her skull.

It was the most beautiful and striking sight she had ever witnessed in the time she had been travelling with the Doctor.

It was a planet that had a fair resemblance to that of earth, but she could instantly tell that it wasn't. The sky was bubbling with different shades of deep red and purple. In the center of the sky, hung what looked like a sun, but instead of yellow, it was burning a light green through the atmosphere. Two moons stood closely to one another, one bigger than the other, but both of them were hard to see due to the red and purple glowing sky. Then, the sound of gushing water suddenly hit her and she finally noticed the land.

About two hundred yards away from the TARDIS, was what looked like at first a normal waterfall. But, when Donna looked closer, she realised that the liquid that was running over the edge of the deep grey rocks was a dark purple color that shone under the green sunlight. Surrounded by the stunning forest landscape, Donna couldn't describe what she was seeing in words and instead, let go of the Doctor and took a slow and steady step out of the TARDIS.

The air was breathable and a slight wind blew through her hair, and as soon as it hit her nose, she noticed instead of a plain air smell, the smell of fresh fruit and scented plants overwhelmed her senses and she took a long deep breath, closing her eyes as she did so.

The Doctor stood at the door, watching her take in the surroundings. He had wanted to thank Donna for taking care of him like she had done for the past few days. She had truly been wonderful and had hardly left his side. If that wasn't a true best friend, he no longer knew what was.

He stepped slowly out, being careful not to move to fast, and strode over to her. He stood next to her, placing his old eyes on her soft features as she gradually opened her eyes.

"This is to say thank you, Donna. I've been waiting to take you here for ages, and I knew you would like it. That's the sickliest I've been in a while and you took care of me like it didn't bother you at all."

As he was speaking, Donna turned to face him.

"You deserve this Donna, you really do. I-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt Donnas arms wrap around his thin frame and hold onto him tightly. He smiled and placed his arms around her.

"Oh Spaceman, you don't have to thank me. I'm always here for you, you know that." Donna told him lightly, with a few tears beginning to sprout from her eyes.

The Doctor tightened the hug and rested his head on hers.

He really was no longer lonely.

-x-

**I know this story hasn't been very long and probably not very good, but I love writing about the Doctor and Donna, and it gave me a chance to try and hit their personalities correctly. **

**After this term has finished at school, I'm going to start and work on my first HUGE story! I'm really excited to get started and I hope that you guys will tune in and read it! **

**I think you all deserve a little bit of a sneaky peak at a few main details of the story so you know what's to come! **

**It will be a Tenth Doctor and Donna story!**

**It will include serious Doctor!Whump!**

**It is mainly set in some dangerous mountains! **

**AND**

**There is lots and lots of fluffy dark brown fur involved! **

**Hope that gives you guys a taste, stick around and I promise I will deliver the goods!**

**Keep Smiling! **


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